Darkest before the dawn
by horselovr171
Summary: Alternate after story. Pike didn't die and the crew works to bounce back. Bad summary, story is a lot better. T for safety. No flames.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters. Chris didn't die because I hated that he did. I always thought he could have been a good father figure for Jim. Shout out to Starsinger who is awesome and actually inspired this story. Also have used a few facts found in their stories.**

Chapter One

Christopher Pike was trapped in a hospital bed when the _USS Vengeance_ crashed into San Francisco. His room was close enough to the ground that he saw two men beam down, one being Spock. Chris also saw the look on the Vulcan's face and it caused a shiver of dread to run down his spine. Not long after, he was bundled up to be shipped off to an affiliated hospital in Zurich, Switzerland to make room for the critically injured in the city.

"Stable patients are being moved to hospitals all over the planet so we can treat the immediate injuries here. I'm told Dr. McCoy of the _Enterprise_ asked that you be sent to Switzerland." The nurse's words only served to heighten Pike's fear. For McCoy to request for him to be transported to a specific location when the man hadn't even been on planet for the past few days spoke of a deeper reason. Chris just hoped it wasn't too bad. He didn't allow himself to think about Jim, as the bad feeling only got worse if he did.

Turns out Chris saw McCoy sooner than he expected. The shuttle being used to transport him to Switzerland had originally come from the _Enterprise_. Entering the shuttle, Chris was somewhat startled to see it already contained Leonard McCoy and what appeared to be a cryotube, even though they hadn't been used in centuries. Chris couldn't prevent fear gripping his heart as he looked between the cryotube and the expression on McCoy's face. His face showed hope, grief, devastation, and he seemed to be only a hairs breadth from a complete breakdown.

Chris wasted no time in steering his hoverchair over to the small window in the cryotube and felt tears welling in his eyes as he looked down and at Jim's face, agony still evident in the lines etched into his face. He squeezed his eyes shut and asked, "What happened?" Bones hesitated for a moment before he launched into the whole story, answering Chris' unasked questions about Spock's pursuit only a few hours earlier. McCoy had also arranged for Chris and Jim to share a room even though they would be housed in the ICU and Pike didn't really need to be there.

McCoy had learned early on in his friendship with Jim that he viewed Pike as the father he'd never had and Pike reciprocated, treating Jim like the son he'd always wanted. Jim had also confessed that Pike and his father had been friends and Chris had been the one to rescue him on Tarsus IV, even though neither man had mentioned that fact since reuniting.

McCoy had taken pity on the worried father and roomed them together so Chris could keep an eye on Jim and reassure himself that he was all right when the synthesized serum worked. Bones wasn't allowing himself to think if, only when. Chris stayed right next to Jim's cryotube for the entire shuttle ride and kept glancing over his shoulder as they were transported through the hospital. Both men were settled fairly quickly and only then did Bones administer the serum.

Time seemed to pass slowly after that moment. The command crew of the _Enterprise_, joined by Carol Marcus, made their way to the hospital as they finished their duties aboard the now dry-docked ship. The Admiralty kept stopping by as well, although none of them had stayed for very long. Fortunately, the paparazzi hadn't gotten wind of Jim's condition or his location, so Starfleet was merely saying he was recovering in a secure facility.

After what seemed like days, everyone's attention was drawn to Spock when his head suddenly jerked upright from its partially bowed position, his gaze fixed on Jim. The movement focused the room's occupants enough that they clearly heard when the sound occurred again. There was a collective intake of breath as Bones moved to Jim's bedside and used his stethoscope before slowly and carefully turning off the life support machine. Without the machines, the small coughs and the beeping of the heart monitor were a lot more clearly heard and as the group sat there listening it seemed to get even stronger and steadier.

Everyone gathered in the ICU room exhaled noisily, most of them crying in relief. Chekov had to be comforted by Scotty as he started sobbing. Carol and Uhura, the only women in the room, clung to each other as they cried. Carol had quite frankly been astounded when no one on the _Enterprise_ held a grudge against her for what her father had attempted to do. It had made a little more sense when she learned that her conversation with her father and subsequent forceful removal from the bridge had been broadcasting through the ship and everyone had heard. Now, she just held onto the other woman as she cried with relief that the man who had shown her what a Starfleet captain was supposed to act like was going to survive. She was also forced to acknowledge that there was also relief that the man she was attracted to was going to live and that she'd have a chance with him.

Once Bones had regained his composure he shooed everyone but Chris out and began giving Jim a more in-depth examination. Chris lay there in silence, watching until he succumbed to emotional exhaustion combined with physical fatigue and fell asleep. Bones left the room to sit in the doctor's lounge with Pike's file to see if the serum he'd synthesized could heal the remaining nerve damage from Nero's torture.

Back on the _Enterprise_, the command crew gathered on the bridge, dropping into available seats or even on the floor, leaving the captain's chair empty. They sat there for a long time just thinking about all that happened and basking in the hope that their captain, the man who had given them all something to believe in, would have a chance to recover and take command again.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters. Chris didn't die because I hated that he did. I always thought he could have been a good father figure for Jim. Shout out to Starsinger who is awesome and actually inspired this story. Also have used a few facts found in their stories.**

Chapter Two

Chris woke to alarms blaring and the sound of people rushing into the room. It took him a second for his head to clear but when it did he watched anxiously as McCoy and the nurses brought Kirk back from the brink of death again. Chris sagged in relief as Jim was stabilized once more and the nurses left the room. Looking back at Jim a moment later, Chris noticed McCoy sitting on a cot set into the corner and reading updating two PADDs.

The two men sat in silence for a few minutes before Bones' gruff voice broke the stillness. "Ask already if you're going to say anything." Chris' mouth twitched in a half-smile in response to the man's statement before he responded, "Is Jim going to be okay?" McCoy dropped the PADDs into his lap and rubbed his eyes, answering, "Once his body stops fighting the serum, yes. I'm actually consulting with a few other doctors about how the serum might affect you and repair your nerve damage."

Chris could only blink at McCoy as he processed this information. Once he'd recovered the ability to speak he asked, "How can you tell how it's reacting in a human body?" McCoy dropped his hands from his face and explained, "We keep taking samples from Jim and analyzing the progress. The radiation has also affected his bone marrow and nerves, so we're keeping a close eye on those samples. We've also taken some samples from you and introduced the serum, the results are promising. The plan is to introduce it to your system after Jim wakes up." Chris allowed his hope to rise, both for Jim and for himself, that he might walk unaided again.

Not long after, Chris fell back asleep, waking midmorning to McCoy checking on both of them. This pattern continued over the next few days. Chris spent his time sleeping or doing paperwork brought to him, both activities being interrupted as Jim kept crashing and being brought back. Chris felt his hope rising each day as Jim got stronger and his attempts to die occurred less and less frequently. A smile stole its way across his face as a week after they arrived in Zurich, McCoy said that Jim was over the worst part and that they'd start bringing him out of his medically induced coma. Chris barely managed to hold back tears of relief as he realized that his boy, his son by all but blood, was going to be just fine.

The week passed slowly for the crew of the Enterprise. Every crewmember on the ship, even those who had died, would have gladly given their lives for their captain before this whole mess. That belief was even stronger now. The entire crew had heard as Marcus had refused Kirk when he had begged for their lives, and they all knew the story behind him entering the warp core chamber to kick-start the engines. As each day passed and news of their captain's improvement trickled down from their command crew, they breathed easier and their hearts felt lighter.

The command crew felt the same multiplied by a hundred fold. They visited the hospital each day in shifts while assisting in overseeing repairs. Spock visited multiple times a day, and Uhura would sit and read to Jim for an hour or two at a time. As each day passed their very beings seemed to gain a new lightness. They smiled more and walked easier. They were all on the bridge when Admiral Pike commed them to let the crew know of Kirk's progress. Uhura was quick to connect the broadcast over the entire ship as Pike updated them on the latest news and the fact that Jim would be awake most likely in a week.

The Enterprise was a decent sized ship, but the command crew could have sworn that they heard the entire crew cheering as they learned of their captain's recovery. At the end of their duty shift, the command crew got ready to go down to Zurich together but were waylaid by the man Kirk had once called Cupcake. Lieutenant Oberoff had been chosen by the rest of the crew to bring their written well wishes to the command crew so that they could deliver them to the captain. He now stood, stammering slightly, as he passed the small stack of PADDs to Uhura before hastily departing the transporter room to return to assisting with unloading personal effects of crewmembers.

All but Spock had a good laugh at the situation. Unseen by the others, his eyebrow cocked and the corners of his lips twitched in what Kirk would have been able to recognize as amusement. The transport to Zurich was quickly completed and the short walk to the hospital was expedient. Chris was awake and doing paperwork when they arrived, although he abandoned it in favor of conversation as they settled down around the room. Carol Marcus took the chair at Jim's bedside and garnered interested looks from everyone else, although no one commented.

Bones entered the room three hours later to Chris and Spock engaged in a chess battle while the rest of the group watched and talked among themselves. There was a round of greetings as he checked Jim's vitals and settled into a chair. "His body hasn't tried to reject the serum in over fifteen hours," he began without preamble, "That's the longest its been between crashes. We're going to wean him off of the drugs keeping him in the coma over the course of the week. He should start responding to stimuli during the week and be fully conscious the day after we stop giving them to him. The latest he'll wake up is three days after that."

Chris had the most notable reaction to this news. He had been present for 90% of Jim's crashes during the week and fear had gripped him during each one. Now, with Jim's recovery confirmed, his shoulders sagged in pure, unadulterated relief and he had to squeeze his eyes closed as he fought to keep his composure. Chris' relationship with Jim was only known to two people, McCoy and Admiral Archer. The command crew of the _Enterprise_ and various personnel were aware they were friends and Chris was Jim's mentor, but the two had been careful not to act too familiarly when others were near them. Although, he suspected the crew had probably begun to suspect differently based on his actions the past week, not to mention his placement in the ICU, in Jim's room, when he wasn't a critical patient.

His relief was shared by everyone else present and they all relaxed into their seats, the lingering tension disappearing. Silence reigned as they all tried to remain composed and enjoyed the solidarity. That solidarity was broken when members of the Admiralty entered the room. The officers all stood and gave salutes, their faces falling into blank masks, while Chris sat up with a puzzled expression on his face. Archer and Barnett were the last two through the door and they gave the _Enterprise_ command crew small smiles that eased some of their worries.

Archer had had a soft spot for Jim for a while, knowing about him from Hoshi Sato when she had known him on Tarsus IV. Archer had refrained from bringing it up to the young man, but he let his standards relax just a bit when it came to Kirk. Barnett was the opposite side of the coin. He had harbored a lot of preconceptions and expectations for the cadet and he had taken it somewhat personally when Jim failed to meet them. That had resulted in him being harsh at the Kobayashi Maru hearing, although his opinion had changed since then. Barnett had since formed a more accurate impression of Jim and he was relatively impressed by the young captain now.

The meeting with the Admiralty turned out to be one massive debriefing. They had attempted to contact them all individually but with all the work on the _Enterprise_ and spending the majority of their off duty hours sitting in Jim's ICU room, the Admiralty had decided to just corner them all at once and that they had the best chance of doing so at the ICU. The debriefing wasn't quick but it answered a lot of questions. Two of the Admirals attempted to place blame on Jim but, as with the rest of the crew debriefings, they were shot down spectacularly. Chris also made them uneasy with the glare promising retribution he sent them. Once the debriefing was done, Archer and Barnett joined the gathering and began speaking of assignments and plans, encouraging the promising young bridge officers to give their insight.

It quickly became evident just how much Jim had influenced them since he took command and his lesson shad only been driven home by sacrificing himself for his crew. The group would take a situation and take it apart in ways the three admirals had never seen before, although Chris wasn't as amazed as he'd seen Jim do something similar at the Academy. The cadet had often gone to Chris for help and advice, usually accompanied by food, and Chris would have the opportunity to see exactly how Jim broke a problem down, even if he couldn't exactly keep up. The famed "lightning storm in space" conversation hadn't been the first time Chris had seen that particular behavior. It had taken Chris a few hours to reassure Jim he hadn't really doubted him but needed to keep up the impression, especially since Jim had been a stowaway.

The process in this instance was different but displayed how much Jim valued the input from his crew. They were respectful but they weren't afraid to put their ideas out there, Chekov being the most shocking in his confidence. Archer and Barnett left that evening with a rather absurd amount of ideas and an increase in their respect for the captain who could take a young and relatively inexperienced crew and mold them into the best and most cohesive unit in Starfleet. The command crew left shortly after them with more promises to visit. Chris shifted and watched Jim breathing as he fell asleep for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters. Chris didn't die because I hated that he did. I always thought he could have been a good father figure for Jim. Shout out to Starsinger who is awesome and actually inspired this story. Also have used a few facts found in their stories.**

Chapter Three

Chris woke the next morning just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. He had fallen asleep watching Jim the previous night and remained facing him this morning. He gave a little groan as he stretched and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jim's head had shifted to be facing him. Chris froze for a moment before slowly lowering his hands from above his head.

A small smile grew over his face at the small sign of awareness from his pseudo son. It had taken him some time to crack through the protective shell, but he had gotten there. Jim had tested him constantly, but by being constant and consistent, Chris had proven his desire to be there for him and to be in his life. It had taken a year before the cadet believed but it had all been worth it in Chris' book.

Not long after, McCoy entered the room to check on his two patients. Chris took the opportunity to ask if he was allowed out of the biobed, permission was granted as long as he remained in his hoverchair as he had when he had first been injured. The reasoning was to not strain the damaged nerves any more so close to attempting to regenerate them.

Chris spent a few hours that day out on the balcony getting some fresh air. An enthusiastic Pavel Chekov informed him about the progress on the _Enterprise_ and Jim when he returned to his room. Pavel kept Chris entertained for a few more hours before the young ensign had to return to repairing the _Enterprise_. Chris also spent some time sitting in his chair next to Jim's bed, holding his hand and talking to him. Chris felt his hope rise as Jim's fingers twitched in his hand, showing he was regaining awareness to the rest of the world.

Carol Marcus was the last visitor of the day and Chris gave her a smile and a wink as he vacated the room, causing her to blush but smile in return. Chris went down to the doctor's lounge to visit with McCoy and his daughter Joanna, who had arrived two days prior and was already calling Jim "Uncle Jim." Chris knew he'd get a kick out of that when he woke up. Back in the room Carol took the seat next to Jim's bed once again and began talking to him, telling him the latest ship's gossip. It had given her a good laugh when she had been told that Jim was one of the biggest gossipmongers on the ship. She was looking forward to being able to tease him about it when he woke up.

Once she ran out of gossip, she began telling him about rebuilding efforts in San Francisco. Most believed that he didn't need to know about the destruction, but Carol had seen enough under his mask that coddling him wouldn't be appreciated. She also knew he could hear her and that telling him now would make it easier when he woke up. Jim's fingers twitched every now and then as she talked and eventually she had reached out and grabbed his hand, cradling it between both of her own. The action had been rewarded with a twitching of Kirk's lips that would have been a smile had he been awake.

Carol realized she'd spent quite a bit of time with Jim and stood to leave, Jim attempting to squeeze her hand to get her to stay. She smiled again and kissed his forehead before setting his hand back on the bed. Chris came back into the room just as she got up to leave and Carol offered him a rather blinding smile. Chris' answering grin was filled with amusement and he said, "You're going to have your hands full keeping track of that one. Lord knows the rest of us do." Carol glanced over her shoulder at Jim and replied, "I have a feeling you'll be joining us up there."

Chris' grin stretched from ear to ear and his answer was, "Yeah, he'll pull for me to be ship's diplomatic officer and the person to keep him on the straight and narrow up there. I can't wait." Carol paused next to him and said, "You two are very close, aren't you?" Chris paused for a moment before he said, "I've known Jim his whole life. I was a friend of his fathers. I'm actually Jim's godfather. I've kept track of him this entire time and he knows that. I was upfront with him about all of this his first week at the Academy. He decided to give me a chance."

Carol sent a grin over her shoulder as she mused, "I haven't known him very long and yet that still doesn't surprise me. I'll see you later, Admiral." Once Carol had left the room, Chris again sat at Jim's bedside and talked to him, telling him stories about his father and some of the missions Chris had been on over the years. It was only when McCoy came in and growled at him to go to sleep that he retired to his own bed, once again watching Jim as he fell asleep.

The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. The command crew would come in by themselves or in groups to visit Jim and Pike. Jim became more and more responsive each day, actually reaching out to people the last two days. Ambassador Selek had come to visit him and performed a mind meld, ascertaining that Jim was aware of everything going on around him. The crew had actually been present when the meld had occurred and Selek had been able to act as an intermediary.

McCoy had taken first crack, asking questions about pain levels and the like. It had amused everyone else when Jim's typical comments had emerged from Selek's mouth, colored with Selek's own amusement. The rest of the crew had more of a conversation, with Selek inserting his own comments from time to time. Selek remained when everyone left to return to their duties so Chris could have a, relatively, private conversation with Jim.

Chris' first few questions had been about how Jim was feeling. Jim's snarky answers eased his mind and the two bantered back and forth for a while, Selek falling easily into the conversation. Eventually, Jim began asking about damage done to the Enterprise and San Francisco, rebuilding efforts and repairs, and Chris' recovery. Chris had a few more details that Carol and his information matched Scotty's, but the biggest excitement came when Chris told him about the results of the serum.

Bones had completed his tests the day before and all the results had pointed to full regeneration of damaged nerves. Jim's happiness at the news caused Selek to laugh and say, "My Jim used to have similar reactions when he was happy. I'm glad that has not changed." Jim sent comforting emotions through the meld and Selek sent back gratefulness before Jim's exuberance caused him to return to his previous train of thought. The two older men were once again laughing as Jim began making plans, leapfrogging from idea to idea every few seconds. Chris' knowledge of his godson was rewarded when Kirk mentioned ship's diplomatic officer and ways to bribe/threaten/convince the Admiralty to give him Chris for the position.

Not long after, the two men left Jim to his own thoughts and talked between themselves for a few more minutes before Selek took his leave, promising to be there when they woke Jim up the next day. Chris turned back to Jim's bed once he had left the room and laughed when he saw Jim's hand was reaching out to him. Chris wheeled next to the bed and grabbed the appendage, lifting it to rest the back against his cheek. Chris smiled, he couldn't wait until tomorrow.


End file.
